Friday Photo Flashback

37 years ago this week I graduated from high school. I was such a band nerd in high school. Band was my life in high school. It was a place where you were accepted, you worked together, and core memories were made.

I remember my sophomore and junior years playing music before the commencement ceremony began. The entire band played together until a couple minutes before the senior class walked out and to their seats. The seniors from band would get up shortly before then and take their place in line. After one more song, the remaining lower classmen would play Pomp and Circumstance as the seniors walked in.

I have posted pictures on this blog before of me conducting the band at graduation. That is a memory that will not fade any time soon. It was such an amazing moment. After the number I conducted, another senior (our drum major) got his turn to conduct the band. I can’t recall the number we played before we had to leave the band and get in line, but I remember the sadness that overwhelmed me as our group of seniors got up.

Our band director, Tom Shaner, was such a mentor and friend to me. That remained the case long after high school. When he passed away, I wrote about him. You can read that here.

As we walked to join our class, my friend Joe (who is in at the right of the photo) and I took a detour and walked past Mr. Shaner. There was no way I was walking by without hugging him. I was so grateful that my parents caught this moment on camera. I’m not sure, but I was probably crying. LOL

One thing that I never really noticed in the picture is that my friend Mary (who went on to teach) is actually snapping a picture of the moment, too. Next to her is my friend Theresa whose left leg is in a pink cast. If memory serves me right, she had broke it just a couple weeks before dancing at our band banquet.

If I go back and compare this photo to the one of me conducting, I could probably tell you who is next to Theresa. I don’t recognize the legs or shoes in this picture. LOL

I cannot even believe that it has been 37 years. What I wouldn’t give to be able to experience sitting in band class again. What I wouldn’t give to have one more chat with Mr. Shaner.

I’m not sure kids today realize just how special those high school years are. Good high school experiences will stay with you for a lifetime. The bad experiences will too. I pray that kindness, encouragement, and friendships overcome bullying, hatred, and the cruelty that is found in so many schools today.

I’m glad that I can look back fondly at mostly good memories from high school.

A #1 (Bad) Spelling Lesson

On this day in 1950 ~ Ed, Gene, Joe and Vic, AKA The Ames Brothers, reached the #1 spot on the pop music charts for the first time, as Rag Mop became the most favorite song in the U.S. The brothers enjoyed many successes with their recording efforts.

The song is actually a 12 bar blues song written by Johnny Lee Wills and Deacon Anderson. It is considered by most to be a novelty number, and I suppose that is probably right. Rag Mop was “adapted” from a late 1940’s song called “Get the Mop!”

For the Ames Brothers, the song was a double-sided hit. Sentimental Me hit the charts in January of 1950, and Rag Mop scored number one status 75 years ago today.

Our high school band was trying to think of a fund raiser. We decided on doing a lip synch contest (long before all the ones you see on late night TV today). I don’t recall how many acts we had, but I do remember the auditorium was sold out! The band kids did little skits between acts so the judges could score.

My buddy, Steve, and I did a lip synch to Rag Mop. The premise was that we’d have a chalk board with the lyrics on it (listen and you will see what I mean). I would be a “teacher” pointing the letters out to my “student,” Steve. When the chorus came, we’d dance around the stage with mops and a mop bucket. It was total stupidity!

Before the “incident.” I remember we asked our custodian if we could borrow some mops for our sketch…you can see them behind the chalk board.

What made it memorable for us, and every one watching, was not planned at all. Apparently we picked the defective chalkboard! We flipped the chalk board over for the second verse, and when it came time to repeat the first verse, we went to flip the chalkboard over and one of the legs snapped and the chalkboard started to fall. While both of us cracked up, I was able to get the leg back up, and got the chalkboard to stand. From the time it snapped until we got it back up was about 20 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. We were laughing so hard we were crying! Needless to say, we didn’t win.

This was the version that went to number one, Steve and I used a more up-tempo version.

Friday Photo Flashback

This Sunday (6/9) will mark 36 years since I graduated from high school. Coincidentally, I graduated from college with my Associates Degree 25 years later (11 years ago). I mention this because there have been so many graduation posts on Facebook over the last week or two. Many of my friends have been celebrating the college and high school graduations of their sons, daughters and grandchildren and they pictures and messages have been wonderful to read.

For the Friday Photo Flashback today, I share two photos from my high school graduation day. The first is one with my dad and me.

I remember when we took this photo thinking it was corny, but looking back at it now, I am so glad we took it. I’m sure there were plenty of times that my folks wondered if I’d ever get grades good enough to graduate! I had so much trouble with Algebra and often did the bare minimum in some of the classes that I hated (like Family Life – URGH). Luckily, there were plenty of classes that I took that I did like.

This photo is taken in our driveway just before I left to go to commencement. I was in band and we played before the ceremony started, so I had to be there early. That is my Ford Escort that my grandmother bought me for graduation. I laugh because of the stuff painted on it and the cat that is suction cupped to the back window. The Oops at the left rear bumper is where my friend Margaret slid into my car one winter morning (that’s a story in itself).

I truly love this photo of my dad and me.

The second photo is from later that evening, but before the ceremony. Our ceremony was held outdoors in the football stadium. The stage was set up in the center of the field and parents and family were seated in the stands to watch. The band set up on the track in front of the field. The first few numbers were played with all the seniors in place. When it was close to the start of the ceremony, the seniors left and lined up to walk into the stadium.

I remember all of the little things that happened in the month or two before graduation where the reality of school ending would hit me. One of those things was when we went to band class and there were songs that were played without us senior players. We sat and listened and it was hard. I loved playing music so much, I hated the fact that it was all coming to and end for me.

One of my favorite memories of that night was getting to conduct the band. There were a couple of us who did that. I picked a song called Tin Pan Alley, which was a medley of songs like I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, Ain’t She Sweet, and Happy Days Are Here Again. It was a long song and I was surprised I was allowed to conduct that one.

I remember it was a tad breezy that night and at one point the conductor’s score flipped a few pages. Thank goodness I was familiar with the song and really didn’t need it. As I look at this photo I see many classmates that I am still in contact with. Our valedictorian, Debbie, who is playing trumpet in the white cap and gown played the trumpet solo that I had played when we did it in concert because I was conducting. Directly to the right of my left hand, you can see a leg in a pink cast. That’s Theresa, if memory serves me right, she fell and broke her ankle at the band banquet a few weeks prior to graduation.

What an amazing feeling to be in front of the band, and in control of the tempo and volume of a piece of music. We had a conducting class that year and many of us got to conduct warm up pieces before rehearsal began. I learned so much from this and I would love the opportunity to do that again.

You know what’s funny? After 36 years, I can remember exactly how that song goes. I remember all the transitions, the tempo changes, the drum and cymbal cues, and solos. I could probably sing it for you note for note.

Shortly after this, all of our band seniors got up, shook hands with Mr. Shaner (our director), and lined up with the rest of our class. For three years, we had been the ones playing Pomp and Circumstance on a loop as seniors walked down the aisles and to their seats. Now, it was our turn. What a surreal moment to be listening to it as we walked in and prepared to get our diplomas.

36 years ago … wow.

Christmas Memory – The High School Holiday Band Concert

If my memory serves me correct, our high school band played three concerts. The first was the Fall concert, usually in early November, which featured both Concert Band and Marching Band songs. The Spring Concert happened in mid-May, and usually featured some of the more “fun” songs. In between those, we had a holiday concert in December.

This concert featured both the Concert Band and the various choir groups. The band almost always opened the concert and would play every 5th or 6th song. I think the band may have played a total of 4 or 5 songs during the entire concert. My grandparents, who were at every band concert, disliked the Christmas concert. They didn’t like having to wait so long to hear the band play.

It wasn’t easy for us band kids to sit on the stage throughout the entire concert either. I want to say that the area of the stage that the band was on was darkened while the choirs sang. It didn’t stop some of the goofing off in the brass and percussion sections. I can recall the drummers dropping things more than one time while the choirs were singing. They would get the “evil eye” from our band director which basically said, “Cut it out!”

The concert always ended with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah. Our choir director would invite any alumni up to the stage to join in and sing. It was a perfect way to end the concert. The stage was already packed with the band and all the choir people, but we always made room for the various alumni singers.

The holiday concert my senior year was pretty special for me. I can’t recall if it was the entire trumpet section, but we all got to go up on the roof of the auditorium a half hour before the concert and play Christmas carols. They were arranged in 4 part harmony and it sounded so cool. I was lucky enough to direct the players. I can only imagine how cool it must have been for folks walking into the concert and hearing us from the roof.

As a kid, I stumbled on a Boston Pops Christmas album. It had many of the songs that would play over the PA system as you walked through K-Mart or Hudson’s during the holiday season. The first song on the album was an almost 9 minute medley of Christmas songs by Leroy Anderson called A Christmas Festival.

The song remains one of my favorites to this day. I used to grab a stick and crank this up in my headphones and “conduct” the orchestra in my room. For the holiday concert my senior year, we actually got to play it, which made it even cooler for me. I was so familiar with it already, but playing it was challenging. It was a tough piece. There were plenty of time signature changes and key changes, and some high notes. We also played the “band” version of it, which was a little different from the “orchestra” version. It was such a neat piece to play. One of the things I did after the concert was grab a copy of the conductor’s score so I could watch it as I listened to the record from home.

Give it a listen:

After we graduated, there were a few times that some of the alumni band got together to play Christmas carols in the lobby prior to the school’s holiday concert. I miss those days and miss playing my horn.